Supercar Scirocco

Not just for Europe anymore; HPA's Scirocco FT565 blasts into North America.

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By Andrew Bornhop / Edited by Mike Monticello

Apr 11, 2010

Without doubt, the best-looking current is the Scirocco. Problem is, it's available only in Europe, and only as a front-drive 4-cylinder. Now, though, HPA Motorsports of Canada—whose various VW/ products we've sampled over the years—is addressing these issues. The Surrey, British Columbia, firm is making the Scirocco available in North America, building perhaps 10 per year for the next couple of years. And they're not run of the mill Sciroccos; these are Scirocco supercars, all-wheel-drive versions powered by the company's proven narrow-angle 3.2-liter V-6 that produces an astounding 565 bhp on race gas when fed 1.35 bar of boost by the twin turbos.

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So, how can HPA sell Sciroccos here? Shortening a complex story, company proprietor Marcel Horn says the HPA Scirocco is basically a kit car, one that's OBDII compliant and can be registered in friendly states such as Florida and Texas. HPA imports rolling chassis (without powertrains) from Germany, then goes to work building the rest of the car with mostly OE VW/Audi parts. In go the built VR6 and Haldex Gen II 4Motion awd system, the drivetrain installation simpler than might be expected, says Horn, because the Scirocco unit body is so similar to the 's. Of note, the differentials are stock open units, but the 6-speed DSG has been fortified with additional clutch discs, extra-aggressive friction material, a strengthened cage and HPA's own launch control tuning.

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And with said launch control deployed, the HPA Scirocco accelerates like the wind it's named after, hitting 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and the quarter mile in 11.4 sec. at 122.7 mph, the tach zooming well past redline in each gear. Top speed, given the car's current gearing, is 176 mph, says Horn.

As for the Scirocco's suspension, HPA turned to KW for a coil-over setup that's adjustable for height, compression and rebound. Of interest, HPA sent corner weights, track, wheelbase and other data to KW in Germany, which then calculated the spring and damper rates on a 7-post shaker rig recently acquired from the shuttered BAR F1 team. And in our drive of the car, which was fitted with 265/35ZR-19 Michelin PS2s all around, we were impressed with how dialed-in it felt, given its minimal testing. The brakes also worked great, with monstrous 14.4-in. front rotors taken from the Audi RS 6 parts bin. About the only thing to complain about is the unrealistically low ride height; but it sure makes the wide-body HPA Scirocco look great...and contributed to the excellent 72.1-mph weave through the slalom.

Horn says the biggest challenge with the Scirocco involved electronics, making sure the numerous systems worked properly with the new CAN network. And the job has been done well, the HPA Scirocco even possessing a boost gauge in the driver information center. And the blinkers automatically come on when the car brakes hard, just like in the European Scirocco.

All told, the HPA Scirocco has the look and feel of an OE supercar, and at around $135,000, it also has a super­car price (an $85,000 front-driver is in the works). As for registration concerns, Horn says he simply won't sell the car to buyers who can't register it.